Quilter

 

Joyce started sewing when she was a teenager. She has always enjoyed the feel and texture of fabric and the joy of making something unique for her home or family. When Joyce retired from 35 years of teaching she began learning to quilt. She liked the geometry of many of the traditional quilt blocks and learned that the same blocks can look very different due to the color choices. She also enjoys trying to recreate her nature photos in fabric. Many of her quilts combine her love of nature and love of traditional quilting.

The colors in nature create a natural palate for quilting. A flower isn’t just yellow but actually many shades of yellow, orange, grey or even pink all on the same petal. A maple leaf in autumn has all of the shades and tints of red, orange, yellow, green, and brown all in just one leaf. In nature one also finds patterns and texture; the veins in a leaf, the layers in a rock or the bark of a tree.  Trying to recreate that image from nature in a quilt involves just as many color and texture variations in fabric. Machine stitching or thread painting is a way of adding the details that one observes when looking closely at that natural world.

Joyce uses free motion quilting to finish her quilts on her home sewing machine. She makes lap sized quilts that can be used as a throw or draped across a sofa. These lap quilts also make beautiful wall hangings. Joyce also makes smaller wall hangings inspired by her nature photos.

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